Chapter 27: Are These Stats Filled In With Feet?

Having agreed to a battle, the two young ladies arrived outside the Aether House.

And clearly, the children of the Aether House, excited that the two big sisters they liked were about to have a Pokémon battle, eagerly followed them out.

There was no need to choose a battle arena at all; there was already a large open space outside the Aether House.

Caitlin and Acerola stood on opposite sides, gazing at each other from a distance.

"It's wonderful; Acerola hasn't had a battle in such a long, long time."

Acerola looked at Caitlin, her hands clasped behind her back, her head tilting slightly, her eyes once again curving into crescent moons as she smiled.

She sincerely hoped Caitlin was truly strong; otherwise, she would feel disappointed.

"Be careful, Caitlin; I am very strong, and even Uncle Mohn might not be my match."

Acerola's smile remained just as adorable.

And the Uncle Mohn she mentioned was precisely the Island King of Ula-Ula Island.

"Please grant me your instruction."

Caitlin wore a faint smile; she was already prepared.

Before coming, Marnie had told her that Acerola was an Elite Four-level Ghost-type Trainer.

Battling Acerola meant the entire team would be at a type disadvantage, yet Caitlin felt she would not necessarily lose.

"Okay then~! Here I come!"

Acerola threw out her first Pokémon; it looked like a cloth doll with a zipper on its mouth, which was the pure Ghost-type Banette.

Before the dialogue, they had already discussed the rules and turn order for this battle.

Facing the Banette, Caitlin sent out her Alakazam to fight.

The battle between the two officially began.

"I wonder if Caitlin can defeat Acerola."

Marnie sat on a chair brought over by an Aether Foundation staff member, watching the clash between the two beautiful girls with great interest.

Emotionally speaking, he naturally hoped Caitlin would win.

But rationally speaking, even though her hard power was superior to Acerola's, Caitlin's overall team was inherently at a disadvantage.

Ghost counters Psychic; moreover, the battle style of Ghost-type Pokémon is inherently mysterious and unpredictable, and Acerola is an Elite Four-level Ghost-type Trainer.

Her understanding of Ghost-types could be called professional, surpassing ninety-nine percent of trainers worldwide; this was no exaggeration.

However, Marnie had battled Caitlin with his Gengar a few times, so Caitlin had some experience battling Ghost-type Pokémon.

After Alakazam paid a heavy price, Caitlin finally defeated the Banette and secured the first victory.

But then Alakazam was defeated by Acerola's second Pokémon, Froslass; Caitlin subsequently switched to Gothitelle, but in the end, only managed to take Froslass down with her in a mutual defeat; battling while being countered was indeed very uncomfortable.

This was a 3-vs-3 battle, and in the final third match, Caitlin and Acerola each sent out their ace Pokémon.

Metagross and Sandygast.

This was the final match to decide the winner; both sides were now unleashing their full power.

Caitlin's Metagross was indeed very strong; even against a type disadvantage, it was pressing Acerola's Sandygast hard.

Acerola was shocked; she was truly stunned.

The opposing Metagross directly shattered Sandygast's Shadow Ball with a Comet Punch, closed the distance, delivered a right hook Comet Punch straight to Sandygast's face, and then followed up with a left hook Ice Punch.

Sandygast retaliated with Earth Power, but who would have thought Metagross would simply tank it directly; the next second, two Ice Punches came down on Sandygast in the form of Hammer Arm.

This...

Acerola tilted her head.

Is this Metagross? With immense stamina, extremely high Attack while maintaining excellent Special Attack, and equally high Defense and Special Defense; although its Speed is slightly slow, it has the priority move Bullet Punch to fill that gap, and its coverage is wide.

Of the eighteen types, Metagross resists ten types and is countered by only four.

Are these stats filled in with feet?

Watching Metagross tanking Sandygast's attacks and hammering Sandygast into the ground, Acerola's eyes went wide.

And Caitlin should be a Psychic-type specialist, right? Is the pinnacle of Psychic-type battle style this wild?

As two more Ice Punches, which countered Sandygast, crashed down, the panting Metagross, relying on its tempered physical strength, successfully achieved victory.

Congratulations, congratulations.

However, the next second, the black light of the fainted Sandygast flared up and wrapped around Metagross.

Metagross's body crashed to the ground with a boom; yes, before fainting, Sandygast used the inherited move Destiny Bond, forcibly trading one for one and taking Metagross down with it.

Neither side had any Pokémon left capable of continuing the battle; it was a draw.

"Phew~ You're amazing, Caitlin! Even though I had the type advantage, I almost lost."

Acerola let out an adorable long sigh, patted her small face, and then showed Caitlin a smiling face with curved eyes, speaking in a sweet, clear voice.

These were her true words.

"Thank you; Acerola, you are very strong too; if there's a chance, I will come to spar with you again."

Caitlin and Acerola shook hands; although she did not win, Caitlin's emotions were very calm.

In fact, this battle was easier than she had imagined.

After all, having battled Marnie, Marnie's Ghost-type tactics were very special...

Caitlin felt Acerola's battle style was quite grounded, without that much pressure.

"Hehe~ Okay, okay, let's exchange contact information; Acerola is very happy."

Acerola tilted her head cutely; she was very happy; she still loved Pokémon battles very much.

After exchanging contact information with the adorable Acerola, Marnie and Caitlin bid farewell to everyone at the Aether House.

"You must come find Acerola again, Caitlin; keep in touch~!"

Acerola stood on her tiptoes, waving her arm cheerfully, urging and instructing repeatedly.

She really liked the gorgeous, beautiful, and powerful Gardelia, mm~ very much.

The smile at the corner of Gardelia's lips deepened a little more; she turned around and waved back at Aserola as well.

"Gardelia's charm really is enormous, isn't it — whether it's those little ones or Aserola, none of them can bear to part with you."

The two walked along the small path, and Mammon glanced at the superpowered girl beside him as he teased.

"Don't make fun of me, Aserola is a very pure-hearted girl."

Gardelia's beautiful eyes shot Mammon a look, she raised a hand to smooth the golden hair by her ear, her tone quite languid.

"But I'm very different from her."

Yes, very different — she herself was now a member of Team Rocket, while a pure, cute, and talented girl like Aserola would surely have a very wonderful future.

"Gardelia, that kind of thinking of yours isn't right." Mammon raised an eyebrow.

Just as he was about to say more, Mammon took out his phone; a message had been sent to it.

"Looks like our luck is pretty good." Mammon grinned.

"What is it?" Gardelia asked curiously.

"Someone has discovered Kapu. Finneon's whereabouts."

(End of this chapter)